DC's Divergence and Convergence Week 7

I don't really want to talk about it anymore...

Maybe it's that there isn't much to talk about on the 2nd issue of these books. Hawkman is still the best of the lot, mostly thanks to the art and Hawkwoman's badassness - I so want those versions back in the DCU. Several have bittersweet endings, mirroring Week 5's tributes/farewells. But even the better books are made less interesting because the page count is taken up by fighting which we know by now is futile. Events occur simultaneously across all of Month 2, so we know there's going to be an earthquake and that Telos will announce the fighting is over, etc. No surprise, which means the lead-up in rather pointless. None of the books are really TERRIBLE (which I couldn't say of Week 6), but none are spectacular. As for the core book, it's got a lot of 2-page spreads and Hal Jordan/Parallax being a jerk. It's just playing for time, at this point. Bring on the ending and how it'll impact the mainstream DCU.

Which is the other reason I don't care too much about Convergence. I'm rather more distracted by the DC's Sneak Peeks into Divergence/DC You, the twice-named, and somewhat awful rebranding of the New52. On the one hand, I can either think about the a throw-back event (and that does have its charms), or I can ponder the future (and that can be rather more exciting). I don't know HOW Convergence will be resolved exactly, but there DOES seem to be an effect on mainstream continuity just going by June's offerings. The Dr. Fate who gets a series is quite plainly a rebooted Khalid Nassour from the Earth2 book, for example, and the situations of some heroes are so different from where they left off in March, there might very well be some kind of retcon at work. Superman losing his powers, Gordon having to take on the mantle of the Bat, Green Lantern on the run, Aquaman's new powers and codpiece, and so on.

DC's releases aren't clear. It's hard to see the forest for the hype. I don't see how they're "going back to basics with [their] legendary characters like Batman (replaced by mech armor-wearing Commish), Superman (depowered t-shirt stud) and Wonder Woman (the Finches' sword-bracelet Diana battling an evil Donna Troy). Nor what they mean about "reinventing key characters" like Black Canary, Bizarro, Cyborg and Starfire (have they been retconned/tweaked, or are they just moving on with their lives?). And Tim Drake as Batman Beyond? How does that time-shift work when he's quite clearly a member of the Teen Titans as Red Robin as well? Could he be the Tim from the pre-Flashpoint DCU? I mean... how confusing is this all going to get before it's over?

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comments:

Anonymous
said...

Thanks, Siskoid for the ongoing review of these titles.I don't have LCS near me and I'm sporadic in ordering trades these days. You're like my Consumer Reports for comics! I look forward to the weekly updates...even when you're wanting to give up on it!